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The knock on his door is what drives Richard Castle from his office late in the evening. There have been knocks on his door this late before in the past, of course. Usually a neighbor disturbed by how much noise he was making with one of his kitchen 'creations' (to use the word lightly), or the police wanting to talk to him for one of his more notorious stunts. So he's understandably confused when he opens the door of his penthouse apartment and finds Detective Beckett, soaked to the bone and shivering, in the hallway. "Kate?"
The detective looks up, and tear-streaked red eyes meet his. Oh. Oh, Kate, you poor thing. "Castle. I'm so sorry to show up here unannounced, it's just... I didn't know where else to go."
Rick is about to open his mouth, to ask what the hell happened to her, when he stops himself. He can wait for an explanation. Right now, his partner, the woman he loves, is in distress and he has to help her. He places a gentle hand on her shoulder and gives her a soft smile. "Hey... No. Never apologize for showing up here unannounced, Kate. You're my partner, I'm always going to look after you"
He moves aside to let her into the apartment before shutting the door behind her. He disappears into the bathroom and the sound of running water starts up, followed by his voice calling her. She pads across the floor of the penthouse, careful to not leave too many wet patches, and finds him standing just inside the door of the bathroom that adjoins his bedroom. As Kate joins him, Rick indicates the shower. "I thought you might like to take a shower and warm up. Leave your clothes on the floor just inside my room, I'll wash them for you. There's fresh clothes and things on the chair. Take as long as you need."
It takes Kate a few seconds to find her voice again. "Castle... Thank you. I'd hug you, but..."
Her voice falters, and she gestures down at her soaked form. Rick nods. "After. Like I said, take all the time you need, Kate."
The only response he gets is a grateful smile. He leaves the room, and shortly afterwards the bathroom door clicks shut. Collecting Kate's soaked clothing from the floor, he throws them into his washing machine before settling himself on the couch. However, he finds that his thoughts never stray far from the woman currently warming up in his shower. What the hell happened to make her break down like that?
Eventually, he turns on the tv and flicks through channels until he finally settles on a classic comedy movie. Something mindless, something he's seen so many times before that he can quote the words off by heart. It's not until about half an hour after that when he hears the shower click off, and even then it's about another five minutes until Kate emerges from his room. She's changed into a loose dark gray shirt and a pair of black sweatpants, along with a pair of fuzzy socks. Her still-damp hair hangs loose, and she gives him a grateful smile as she sinks down on the couch beside him. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, she sighs gently. "I guess I owe you an explanation, don't I?"
"You don't have to if you don't want to. I don't know what happened, but you seemed so sad when you showed up, Kate, I don't want to force you to relive that if you don't want to" he reassures her.
She smiles appreciatively. "I know, and words cannot express how much I appreciate that. But I think it's something you need to know."
"What happened?"
She sighs deeply. "Josh and I broke up. It was definitely mutual, both of us knew that it had been coming for a while. I won't pretend it didn't hurt like hell though."
Rick nods sympathetically "Kate... If I can ask, what happened?"
"I realized I was too deeply in love with someone else."
Suddenly lost for words, Rick blinks. Kate giggles gently and shifting closer, leans up, kissing him on the cheek. Taking one of his hands, she squeezes softly. "It was you, Rick. I'm in love with you..."
He smiles, kisses her gently back. "I love you too, Kate"